Reflections after reading "Proof of Heaven"

A couple of weeks ago I read "Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife" by Eben Alexander and I was shocked to discover that his experience of heaven (the part he called "the Core") exactly matches mine, as published in my book "Creative Spirit Musings" (see the very last story for my description). 

Alexander also talks about a "Gateway" area which precedes the Core, which looks like a charming valley full of happy people in colorful, peasant-like dress. I have "flown" over that exact scene many times in my visions or dreams. 

Several ideas or principles started to occur to me after I read Dr. Alexander's story, and I decided to capture them here. These are just jottings, stream-of-consciousness-style, with no hierarchy and no attempt yet to make them into a coherent argument or treatise.

1. We are too bound up by our idea of playing out roles we feel are assigned to us (in the family and other relationships). Whereas all we need to do is to love, emanate love, for others, and relationships will work out fine.
2. We already own all there is in the universe (co-own might be a better word). Take care of what you have right now and don't worry about the rest. If you need more it will come in the right time. Coveting "stuff" makes our spirits shrink.
3. There is a purpose to being on earth, which has to do with love and growth, but I am unable to articulate it broadly enough yet.
4. We are all part of one vast fabric of power and existence (love) that exists in many dimensions. To flow with it is better than to fight against it.
5. We do not lose our individuality (after physical death) but our individuality is not characterized by ego, in its essence. 
6. More to come. 

Angel Nebula

Children do not thrive in "self-reliant" N. Korea

Welcome to the "Communist state one-man dictatorship" of North Korea, where children are born to lives that are nasty, brutish, and short - to borrow from Thomas Hobbes (q.v.).

From today's news:

The United Nations says that more than a fourth of all North Korean children are stunted from chronic malnutrition and fully two-thirds of the country's 24 million people don't know where their next meal is coming from.

The U.N. said Friday that its Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs found that 2.8 million North Koreans "are in need of regular food assistance amidst worrying levels of chronic malnutrition and food insecurity."

Read the UN news article.

Be the type of person you want to meet

Actually ... I am. But I enjoy meeting people who are different from me because I can learn so much from them and enjoy new things with them that I wouldn't have thought of.

Also, making the effort to get along with people who are different from ourselves helps round off our rougher edges.

 

Bake sales banned? Try these fundraisers.

The State of Massachusetts is banning bake sales at schools because of their alarm about childhood obesity. Leaving aside the fact that most of the goodies sold at bake sales are purchased by other parents, and not children, I put on my thinking cap to find alternative sales that would still help the band get to camp.



Tying Fishing Flies

Fish is good for you -- it makes you smarter and it keeps you lean. So let's encourage children to learn about fishing, and while they're at it, the kids can make and sell Fat Alberts and Nosepickers to raise funds. After all, their little fingers are ideally suited to tying those fiddly little pieces together. Don't forget to issue gloves so the kids won't poke their fingers on the hooks.


Reinvent Bob-a-Job week 

Lord Baden-Powell invented this scheme as a way to keep Scouts busy doing good deeds during their holidays. A bob was a shilling (in the olde money) -- call it a dime in the U.S. Of course, the British Health & Safety officiousness shut down this Scout program with all the angst Massachusetts has heaped on brownies. However, it has risen again in safer form. Taking a tip from the Brits, our own children can perform supervised car washes or reforestation programs to earn their new cheerleader uniforms.

Teach Granny to use a computer

Every kid these days starts using computers and related devices around the age of one. By the time they're in first grade, half of them can probably design web sites and provide tech help. Let's use those skills to raise some money for the team! Parents and grandparents can pay for mentoring from school kids and learn how to use their computer, smart phone, digital dishwasher, TV remote -- wherever the need is greatest.

Quiet time

What do parents want? Peace and quiet. What do kids want? Video games. Voilà -- in this fundraiser, the parents buy all the video games from the confiscated items box at the school, and give them to their kids to play in their rooms. Here's an awesome fundraiser that will put kids and parents in happy harmony.

Diamonds in the Dust - brief book review

Diamonds in the Dust by Shirley Mowat Tucker

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


My five-star rating is based on the quality of the story although I would give a different mark for a quality of writing -- maybe 3.5. However this author will learn and grow and improve and is well worth watching.

The story line is dramatic, frightening, and ultimately bears a Christian message of forgiveness and resolution. The characterizations are deep and thoughtful. The author has clear insight into what makes people violent, fearful, angry, and hopeless, and how their internal choices can redeem them.

You will learn a lot about the sorry state of affairs in South Africa if you read this book -- stories of ordinary people dealing with the devastation of murder, AIDS, child rape, starvation, poverty, being orphaned and abandoned ... and how people can reach out to help each other heal.

In spite of the dark themes this is not a dark book. It is realistic and hopeful. I couldn't put it down.

Home sweet home

Just cleaned up the worst mess I have ever seen in my house. Apparently, the beagle has learned that if he climbs into the bathtub - which I wouldn't have thought possible - he can reach the cat food that's tucked way back on the shelf between the tub and shower.

The first problem was, there was an open cat litter pan in the tub - which apparently the dog didn't mind tramping in to reach his prize. The second problem was, tubs being so slippery and all, he knocked the cat's double dish into the tub. Now it was all mixed together - food, water, dog, and cat litter.

Then, he faced the problem of getting out of the tub. This he accomplished by smearing his now wet paws covered in cat litter all over the tub walls and surround as he scrabbled to get out, and trailing the mess across the bathroom floor and onto the carpets in the next two rooms.

What's worse, this all happened while I was out so I knew nothing about it. The guest who came back with me needed to use the bathroom ...

Who, me?

A holy day for atheists?

FLORIDA COURT SETS ATHEIST HOLY DAY

In Florida, an atheist created a legal case against Easter and Passover Holy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians and Jews and observances of their holy days. The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized days.

The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring, "Case dismissed!"

The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, "Your honor, How can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, yet my client and all other atheists have no such holidays."

The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But you do. Your client, Counsel, is woefully ignorant."

The lawyer said, " Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists."

The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is April Fool’s Day. Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.' Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that, if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day.

“Court is adjourned."